Overview of Clothing circa 1912

Catalog no. 124 (1912) by Sears, Roebuck, and Company. A complete digitized copy of the 1912 Sears Catalog, over a thousand pages long and full of wonderful information. Much of the merchandise was affordable for farmers, working families, and others without much disposable income.

For a Sideways Bit of Perspective and Possibly Insight…

Here are several digitized primary source books about the history of costume – written around 1912. Early works on the history of costume are full of misinformation (often including potentially offensive errors and generalizations), but they can provide insight into the prevailing ideas of the day about clothing, fashion, ideals of beauty, and “common sense.”

Costume (1906) by Eliza Aria, a digitized primary source book, available free for download at the Internet Archive.

By Ava Trimble

I'm a historian of domestic life, clothing, and needle arts, working on my M.A. in public history at New Mexico State University. I like making connections between cultural history, social history, material culture, and (dare I say it?) experimental archaeology. I believe in studying the history of clothes, sewing, and housework with as much intellectual rigor as any other aspect of history, and I have a vendetta against polyester reproduction garments in museum exhibits.

Join me as I research obscure stitching techniques, strive to create obsessively accurate reproduction clothes, and opine at length about the comfort and functionality of various iterations of undergarments.